To Blind the Stars
by PhoenixSong4232
Summary: "Now then, words intended for him would sound much better in the tones of your voice, don't you think?" The Deku Tree's wisdom lingers in Zelda's mind upon a visit to Korok Village. As past insecurities burn through her confidence, can she at last find the courage to speak her heart to Link? Or will her words be lost among the whispers of the wood...taking the princess with them?
1. Fog and Flame

The Lost Woods had not changed in Zelda's century of absence. Gnarled trees still loomed behind veils of fog, wildlife buzzed within pools of shadow, and the inescapable sense of being watched kept the hairs on the back of her neck at constant attention. If it wasn't for Link striding confidently in front of her, she would likely have been lost hours ago. In one of his hands a torch was held defiantly against the whispering mist while the other was wrapped protectively around her own.

It was commendable the ease with which Link moved through this place, his calm demeanor and poised features a welcome island in the sea of anxiety flooding Zelda's mind. It was ridiculous she knew, she had faced much worse than a forest of grinning trees and flickering torch light. Yet there was something about the undulating mists and the unknown lurking beyond that had her head swiveling from side to side like a paranoid doe.

Her distress must have been evident as Link gave her hand a small squeeze, keeping his eyes locked on whatever passed for a trail in this goddess forsaken place.

"Just a little farther," he told her quietly. Despite all his outward calm Zelda didn't miss the fact that Link kept his voice low. It seemed even the chosen hero was not completely impervious to the eerie airs that saturated the wood. Zelda returned the squeeze, ignoring the heat that had blossomed in her chest at the young man's subtle gesture.

Holding hands had been a practical decision the moment Minshi Woods' vibrant vegetation had given way to roiling fog and skeletal branches. If the two were separated the goddess only knew if they would find each other again, and Zelda would rather face a group of angry lynel than spend the night alone in these woods. Still she would be lying to say there wasn't a part of her that was pleased with the physical contact, even if it was temporary.

Something flapped overhead and the princess whirled around so fast she nearly lost her hold on Link's hand. The young man's grip tightened at the last moment, refusing to let her fingers slip away. His cerulean eyes scanned the mists, the torch in his hand hefted like a weapon.

A beat passed in silence. Then another. Finally Link turned away, his eyes sliding to Zelda, the corners of his mouth lifting.

"You alright?" he asked. Zelda cleared her throat and nodded once, embarrassed by her overreaction. For the first time she found herself grateful for the shadows' lengthy reach as they cloaked the tinge she could feel spreading across her cheeks.

"Y-yes. Of course," she responded stiffly. "Let's just keep moving."

Zelda strode stubbornly forward only to pause at Link's side upon remembering that he was the one with the torch. She glanced over at him and he raised a brow, holding the torch out to her with a slightly amused expression.

"Oh stop," she told him, waving a hand dismissively. "That would be a disastrous idea and you know it. Just get us out of these woods." A beat. "Please."

The ghost of a smile slid over Link's lips, a silent sign of his acquiescence.

"Stay close," he murmured, his hand tightening on hers lest she accidentally attempt to yank it free again. She nodded at his back and immediately felt foolish as he could not see the gesture, her cheeks having gone red again at the gentle protectiveness in his words… What a hopeless case she was.

The shadows cast by the torch's flickering light leapt and danced across the surface of the mist, creating the illusion of figures writhing sorrowfully just beyond the tendrils of fog. Over the whine of the wind Zelda thought she could hear the sound of high-pitched laughter, sharp like the snap of dry twigs, echo from somewhere in the dark. The princess suppressed a shudder and moved a little closer to Link.

At long last the massive hollowed out log that marked the tunnel to Korok Village materialized in front of them and Zelda released a breath, patting the old bark fondly as the shroud around them dissipated.

"At last," she breathed.

Link released her hand and doused the torch, the glow emanating from the village plenty bright enough to illuminate their way.

"Shall we?" he asked her, gesturing toward the tunnel. Zelda smiled at him.

"Of course."

As Korok Village opened around them Zelda felt a wave of emotion wash over her as thoroughly as if she had submerged herself in the Hylian sea. The last time she had stood beneath these boughs she had lain the Master Sword to rest until such a time that Link could take it up again. Back then Link himself had been…

Zelda let the thought slide away, not wanting to revisit that particular batch of memories. The champion was whole, unharmed, and presently shooting her an inquisitive look, no doubt wondering why she had so suddenly stopped moving. Lifting her chin Zelda made the conscious decision to leave any dark thoughts back in the fog and together the two stepped into the Deku Tree's clearing.

…

Korok village seemed the only place in the world that had remained unchanged since Calamity Ganon's demise. The playful rattle of koroks joined the hush of rustling leaves and the bright peal of birdsong, the sounds melding to create a forest symphony in which Link and Zelda's footsteps provided the percussion. Sunlight that had been a stranger to the twisting gloom of the Lost Woods now filtered in abundance through the canopy of leaves that arced high above them. The golden light was complimented nicely by the gentle glow of bean lamps placed strategically about, illuminating the koroks that buzzed excitedly to each other, most flitting shyly out of sight whenever the two drew near.

Link took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of vegetation, damp bark, and mushrooms. This place, with its hospitable denizens all flitting about under the protection of the wise old Deku Tree, was one of the few places the hero could truly feel at ease. His gaze slid to Zelda in time to see the princess's eyes lift from Master Sword's vacant pedestal to the wizened tree.

"Princess."

The Deku Tree's voice was as Link remembered: deep with a rumble like thunder and a sigh like wind through treetops. He spoke only a word and yet somehow a word was all it took. Link watched silently as Zelda took one step forward, then another. Tears glittered in her eyes as she stared at the ancient tree and Link found himself starting toward her, the urge to comfort, to wipe away those tears nearly overwhelming him. At the last moment he held himself back, knowing he needed to give Zelda the space to say what she needed to say.

"Thank you," she breathed, the words bringing the princess to her knees, her hands resting just shy of the empty pedestal. "Thank you so much." All around them koroks were poking their heads from the bushes or hovering just beneath the Deku Tree's boughs in silent observation. The Deku Tree himself released a low hum, a sound that was somehow comforting though he spoke no words.

"You kept it safe," Zelda sniffed. "You kept _him_ safe. Thank you."

High above their heads the Deku Tree shifted his upper branches, sending a rain of wayward leaves floating down around them.

"On your feet Princess," the tree said solemnly. "I played but a small part in this particular tale. The kingdom owes you a great debt. Allow me to thank you on their behalf."

As another tear slid down the girl's cheek Link's resolve shattered, the knight closing the distance between them in a matter of seconds. He moved to Zelda, the princess who loved her kingdom. Zelda, the woman who lived for scholarship and science. Zelda, the warrior who had held off a demon for one hundred years.

Alone.

Link lowered himself to one knee as each of those truths resonated within him, extending a hand to the princess. This woman…she bowed to no one.

"Zelda," he said gently. The woman lifted her head, her eyes gaining a sense of clarity as they focused on his own. Slowly she set her hand a top Link's, his fingers curling around hers as he pulled her to her feet. Zelda sniffed once before wiping away another tear and gracing Link with a watery grin.

Above them the Deku Tree exhaled in a long, contented sigh.

"Like the sun..." he murmured. "One hundred years was far too great a time to keep from seeing that smile."

Watching Zelda, two spots of color darkening her cheeks at the old tree's words, Link found he quite agreed.

…

Link could safely say he had never attended anything quite like a korok celebration before, the small leafy creatures going above and beyond to provide their guests with incomparable hospitality. Upbeat melodies were played on instruments crafted from leaves and tree bark, the songs they produced unique in their woodland beauty, as though the forest itself had learned to sing. Mushrooms were served in abundance and it seemed that every time Link would finish off one kabob, a korok was there to supply him with another.

"Natie prepared his finest especially for you Mr. Hero!" they would say with such enthusiasm that Link didn't have the heart to tell them no. It wasn't long before he had been given more mushrooms than his stomach could comfortably handle, Link now resorting to subtle ways in which to stash the kabobs in inconspicuous places when the koroks weren't looking.

Zelda meanwhile had developed a particular fascination with the bean lamps dotting the area and the particulars of how exactly they were exuding light. At one point in the evening she went so far as to grab Link by the arm and drag him over to the nearest one so he could bear witness to her scrutiny. The princess's nose scrunched up as she studied the pod with a fascination only scholars could employ, flitting about the plant like an indecisive butterfly.

"It doesn't seem to be an apparatus," she said to him. "But where does the glow come from specifically? And might there be some way we could harness it as a light source? Or if the light is, as I presume to be the case, merely part of the plant itself, it would likely prove an unreliable resource requiring constant replenishment to be remotely close to useful. Perhaps some sort of outdoor lighting mechanism? Or if the buildings were structured around the plants themselves…but no, that's not practical of course. Besides, I've never seen this grow anywhere but in this village." She sighed loudly, muttering to herself before walking away and giving Link the distinct impression that she had forgotten he was standing there at all.

The young man watched as the princess was immediately swept into conversation with an enthusiastic Chio who seemed to be instructing her on the most prolific methods with which to sprout mushrooms from one's head. The princess responded with an exuberance Link wasn't entirely convinced was feigned, particularly as he watched her produce a small writing pad from her pouch and jot down a few quick notes.

Despite any mushroom misgivings, the entire scene filled Link with a warmth he would have been hard pressed to put into words. Perhaps it was the sense of comfort elicited by the lazily drifting fireflies, or the lilting music played by expert hands. Or maybe it was the nostalgia of similar celebrations one hundred years ago when their whole mission had first come to light. There had been four other faces present back then, faces that time had not, in the end, been able to snatch away from him. They would have enjoyed this, Link thought to himself. He sent a brief prayer to the goddess, silently asking her to watch over the champions' souls as they danced amongst the stars.

"So serious even now?"

The softly spoken question caught Link off guard and he blinked, faces of a century ago replaced by the glow of a horizon aflame with sunset. Zelda was looking at him with eyes a more piercing blue than the purest of Naydra's crystalline scales. Those eyes…how could he have forgotten them, even for a moment?

"Link?" Zelda's voice again, concerned this time. "Are you alright?"

He allowed the corners of his mouth to tilt upward and he nodded at her, shrugging away the stiff posture of a moment ago.

"I'm fine," he answered, deciding to turn the conversation in a different direction. "Did Chio already teach you how to grow your own fungal crown?" Amusement grazed the edges of his words but Zelda actually looked ponderous.

"No," she replied, placing a finger to her chin. "I believe even with the use of proper elixirs such a state is specifically species exclusive…" The princess trailed off as Link raised both of his eyebrows. She blinked. "You weren't serious," she stated flatly, color creeping up her neck at the realization. "And here I am prattling on like a fool."

Link had the decency to look thoughtful.

"You're sure he didn't teach you?" the knight asked quietly, his eyes lifting to the top of her head. "I thought you'd already started."

Zelda blanched, her hands flying self consciously to her skull.

"Started!?" she exclaimed, patting her hair as though some imposing insect had suddenly flown into it. While she was distracted Link plucked a wild flower from beside him and reached forward, tucking the blossom behind Zelda's ear.

"You've already started sprouting flowers," he told her quietly. "I figured mushrooms were next."

Zelda's hand drifted up to touch the blossom now perched behind her ear. Perhaps it was simply the shadow cast by twilight, but he could have sworn her cheeks darkened.

"P-presumably," she stuttered, for once seeming at a loss for words. They were standing awfully close Link realized suddenly, and something about the way the princess was staring up at him had his hand itching to touch her face again. Zelda swallowed, hesitating a moment before she seemed to find her voice.

"Link I… There's something I… Well you see there's something I told the Deku Tree I would t—"

"Mr. Hero!"

Link had never been so startled in his life and, from the expression on her face, he doubted Zelda had either. Maca had somehow managed to waddle all the way up to them without either hylian noticing, the little korok waving two kabobs at Link as proudly as if he had discovered the Triforce itself.

"I found more mushrooms for you Mr. Hero!" Maca stated excitedly, bouncing up and down as fast as his tiny legs would allow. His heart returning to a normal rate of palpitation, Link leaned down and plucked the mushrooms from the korok's grasp.

"Thanks Maca I'll, er, eat this right away…" he said, hoping the resignation in his voice was not as obvious to the korok as it was to him. Maca released a pleased exclamation before bustling off again, rattling all the while. Link took one look at the kabobs in his hand and heaved a huge sigh. Yet before he had figured out what to do with this particular portion, Zelda had plucked them from his fingers, done a quick onceover of their surroundings, and deposited them into the snarl of vegetation behind her. Link blinked, his eyebrows disappearing into his hairline as the princess merely shrugged, wearing an expression that was a little too innocent.

Perhaps he had not been as subtle in his mushroom disposal as he'd initially thought. The two of them laughed before lapsing into silence.

"What were you going to say?" Link asked after a moment's pause. "You know…before?"

Zelda looked suddenly flustered and she waved her hand dismissively. Link had seen her do this several times in the past, most frequently when she was feeling uncomfortable.

"N-nothing. It was nothing," she responded.

"But—"

"Come on," she interrupted, grabbing Link's hand and pulling him with no small amount of force toward where the korok instrumentalists were playing. "Hestu has been wanting to teach me his 'shalaka' dance all evening and I will not be partaking in that bit of excitement alone."

Link paled.

"Zelda no, wait that's—"

She whirled on him, blonde hair windmilling about her face as she slammed one fist into her hip, using the other to point accusingly at his nose.

"You follow me from Zora's Domain to Gerudo desert and everywhere in between, _including_ into the maw of Calamity Ganon himself, and you're telling me a dancing tree creature with maracas is where you draw the line?" she inquired incredulously. There was a moment in which Link could only blink dumbly at her before he chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head in defeat.

"…Shalaka dance you said?"

Zelda's answering smile could have blinded the stars.

…

As it turned out, Link was a much more willing participant in the dancing than Zelda had initially anticipated. Hestu, unsurprisingly, was an enthusiastic teacher. The whole thing was really less of a dance and more a vivacious waving of the arms. What followed was an overwhelmingly heartwarming and hilarious scene in which Hestu relinquished one of his beloved maracas to Link, the young man doing his best to match the large korok's spirited energy, his face flushing deeper and deeper red with every second that ticked by.

Zelda would have been remiss to ignore the opportunity and while Link was distracted, she darted forward, nimbly unclipping the sheikah slate from his waist and dancing out of reach.

"Zelda—!" he exclaimed, making a grab for the slate right as she snapped a picture. The resulting image was Link with a comically desperate expression on his face, one hand reaching toward the slate, the other still holding the maraca. Meanwhile Hestu could be seen in the background, a poof of green confetti shooting from the instrument he clutched.

The princess laughed until her belly ached, something she could not remember doing since before the days of the calamity. As she returned the slate to Link, the young man was unable to resist a smile of his own when he saw the picture.

"I suppose you're keeping that?" he asked her quietly, a dash of resignation in his voice.

"Framed on my wall," she responded, her words' jesting solemnity severely diluted by the mischief that sparked in her eyes.

…

The higher the moon rose in the sky the heavier Zelda's eyelids seemed to become. Suppressing a yawn, the princess made her way across the clearing, skirting a few koroks before settling onto a flattened stump near the base of the Deku Tree. She watched Link as he listened to Maca and Chio chatter, her knight looking more at ease than she had seen him in weeks. This little endeavor had been good for both of them it seemed.

"Has he heard your words yet Princess?"

The Deku Tree's voice was surprisingly quiet and though Zelda shot an anxious glance at Link, it was obvious the hylian had not heard the question. Relieved, the princess shook her head.

"No," she answered. "I…well with everything going on there just hasn't…I mean…opportunities are difficult to come by and I, I just…" she trailed off, feeling about as eloquent as the stump she sat upon.

The truth of the matter was that she feared telling Link the truth; feared how he might react. It was true that her champion had regained the majority of his memories, but that said nothing for the state of his heart. She did not want to assume anything, did not want to tarnish the relationship so blessedly restored to her. Zelda's hands clenched into fists and she drew her legs up against her chest, resting her chin on her knees as frustration knotted in her stomach.

"My apologies Princess," the Deku Tree murmured. "You must forgive the prying questions of an old tree." Zelda shook her head.

"No," she murmured, the word coming out like a sigh. "No, I would ask you to forgive the insecurities of a foolish girl." The tree was quiet a moment, pondering her words before speaking again.

"You know how much can change in the time it takes a leaf to fall to the forest floor, a knowledge you keep more intimately than most. I do not have to tell you that moments like these…" he paused again as the breeze stirred, tenderly picking up the strands of Zelda's hair and blowing them in Link's direction. "…they are precious," the Deku Tree continued. "Just as your words are precious. Do not allow them to crumble into memory while you remain as silent as the flower that shares your namesake."

His words were a gentle precaution yet burdened with a weight Zelda was not certain she could lift with words of her own. So she did exactly as the tree had told her not to and remained silent, suddenly feeling more exhausted than ever. The princess raised a hand to her lips as her weariness took shape in a large yawn. Beneath her the tree bark suddenly felt more comfortable than it had any right to and the only thing she could focus on was how badly she wanted to sleep. From above her the Deku Tree's sigh was like wind through open fields, his voice a soothing rumble that calmed her like a lullaby.

"Rest Princess," he murmured. "Your words will still be there in the morning."

Rolling onto her side Zelda curled herself into a small ball, resting her head in the crook of her arm and closing her eyes. Her breaths became deep and even as she sailed into dreams, carried on a boat of korok song and a hylian's gentle laughter.

…

As quietly as he could, Link slipped away from Hestu, Maca, and Chio, making his way across the clearing and to the side of his sleeping princess. He had been aware of Zelda nodding off, proceeding to keep a protective eye on her lest she move in her slumber and tumble off the tree. He stared down at the princess now, his chest feeling unusually warm. Zelda's expression was serene in the glow provided by the bean lamps, long strands of hair falling across her face like locks of braided sunlight.

With as much care as he could muster Link lifted Zelda into his arms, cradling her against him as he carried her to the Deku Tree's inner sanctum. Her head lolled against his shoulder and she mumbled something indistinguishable in her sleep. Link felt himself smile, breathing in her familiar scent of flowers and fresh soap.

Pepp rattled up to him as Link stepped into the Deku Tree proper, the korok glancing curiously at Zelda before speaking.

"I have beds prepared Mr. Hero, for you and the princess both," he piped up, motioning him further inside. Link nodded, following silently after Pepp as the korok waddled over to a vacant bed saturated in the ripe scent of tree bark and fresh leaves. Link carefully set Zelda upon the mattress, the princess murmuring softly as he released her. He leaned over, gently tucking the blanket around her shoulders, his fingers lingering inches from the smooth skin of her cheek. His heart started to beat faster, his face warming with a heat that had little to do with the Deku Tree's cozy interior.

"I prepared a second bed for you Mr. Hero, if you would like." Pepp's small voice piped up, jarring Link from the enraptured stupor that had infiltrated his head as thoroughly as the fogs of the lost woods. Clearing his throat, Link gave an abrupt nod of his head, stepping back from Zelda's bedside with uncharacteristic clumsiness.

"Lead the way," Link answered, smiling down at the korok and hoping the little creature correlated the red of his cheeks to the tree's pigmented lighting. Pepp nodded enthusiastically before gesturing Link to follow and rattling away again. The knight took one step after the korok, hesitated, and glanced once more at the slumbering young woman.

"Good night Princess," he murmured before at last turning away and heading after Pepp.

…

 _The first thing she noticed was the smoke, great toxic plumes of it billowing into the sky as incensed flames devoured the surrounding plain. In the distance the horizon burned against a blood red sunset as men scrambled like panicked animals in the wake of a storm. The sound of guardian blasts pierced the air, the sharp 'pi-pi-pi-pi' the harbinger of an answering, deadly flare._

 _She knew where she was. Remembered the stampeding guardians, the burning fields, the hopelessly outnumbered soldiers. The only thing missing was…_

" _Link?"_

 _His name was a prayer on her lips. She glanced wildly around, aware of the flames closing in on her with every erratic beat of her heart. Even from this distance she could feel their scorching heat, every bit as searing as the depths of Death Mountain._

 _She spotted Link then, his form silhouetted against the crimson sky. He was a solitary figure, heaving for breath as he stumbled to one knee, supporting himself solely on the strength of his sword._

 _Burned. Bleeding._

 _Dying._

 _NO! The word screamed through her mind as she tried to run to him, tried to get her quivering legs to move. Yet she could do nothing, her body frozen in place even as a massive guardian crawled over the debris, its single eye fixed on Link with deadly focus._

 _She tried to scream but was rendered silent as that mechanical head turned slowly toward her._

 _Her limbs quaked as she tried to lift her hand, tried to summon the power that had immobilized the monstrosities all those years ago. Yet it was an echo of what it had once been, her power akin to the last gasps of smoke from a once great bonfire. Still she tried, fought, coerced herself into scrounging up what wisps she could. Her hand began to glow with a faint golden sheen, one that paled in comparison to the blaze of surrounding firelight._

 _The guardian seemed to contemplate her for a moment and then, before her very eyes, it began to transform. Blight burbled up from inside it, oozing from mechanical joints and sockets before falling to the earth in great smoking globs that bubbled and hissed like acid. In moments she was no longer looking at the guardian, but at a face with glowing red eyes and a wild red mane. The face that had haunted her for one hundred years._

 _Calamity Ganon stared at her, his mouth wide in a garish smile that froze the blood to ice in her veins. In that moment she knew what was about to happen and though she screamed and struggled, she was powerless to stop it. Calamity Ganon's head swiveled slowly back to Link, the hero fighting to rise, to face the scourge on both feet._

' _Pi-pi-pi-pi-pi…'_

 _Death's prelude a dissonant metronome in her ears, she raised a hand toward Calamity Ganon, tears streaming down her cheeks as she prayed with everything she had for the strength to spare Link. To save him._

 _The glow around her fingers flickered once and went out._

 _There was a whooshing sound as cold light flashed, the beam shattering its target and her world in the space of an instant. A leaf, blown from the heights of a burning forest, slowly floated down in front of her and landed with silent finality upon the charred plains. It crumbled to ash as she fell to her knees._

 _She had failed._

…

Zelda sat bolt upright, her blonde hair damp with sweat and clinging to her forehead, her heart throwing itself painfully against her ribcage. It took the princess a moment to realize she was not trapped in a field of death and fire, that Calamity Ganon had been stopped and Link was still very much alive. She placed a hand on her chest, forcing herself to take a long, calming breath. A moment passed, a moment in which Zelda forced back the near suffocating anxiety that had accosted her at the sight of those glowing red eyes.

Swallowing the princess swung her legs over the side of the bed, knowing logically that Link was safe, but needing to confirm this fact with her own eyes.

As silently as she could, Zelda crept toward Link's bed, breathing a sigh of relief as her eyes fell on the hero sleeping there. She took comfort in the peaceful expression on his face, drinking in the steady rise and fall of his chest, each breath he took a defiant scream against her nightmare's falsehoods. Her fingers itched to reach out and touch him but she stopped herself, afraid that by doing so she would wake the sleeping knight. She also wasn't entirely sure what Link might do if he woke to find her standing over him like some curious forest creature and her cheeks heated at the thought of having to explain herself.

Zelda turned away, tiptoeing not back to her bed, but instead to the tunnel leading out into the moonlight. She needed to see a sky unhindered by smoke. Needed to prove to her quaking heart that the stars were still there.

None of the koroks stopped her as she made her way toward the empty pedestal. Whether they were sleeping themselves or going about nightly business she wasn't sure, though in truth the princess welcomed the silence. Her thoughts were loud enough on their own.

Sighing Zelda settled down on the smooth stone platform, her fingers brushing the hollow where the Master Sword had slept. The fact that it now stood empty was a testament to the truth of her success. She was not a failure. She had succeeded in every way that mattered, the sword returning to Link's hand and Calamity Ganon's demise proof of that. And yet… Zelda frowned, drawing her knees beneath her chin as the Deku Tree's words whispered through her mind.

"… _your words are precious. Do not allow them to crumble into memory while you remain as silent as the flower that shares your namesake."_

Her gaze drifted to the silent princess flowers that dotted the stone's border, their petals blowing gently in the nighttime breeze. The Deku Tree had warned her against sharing in the blossoms' silence, but perhaps she could draw inspiration from another of their traits. Had she not spoken to Link of her hopes that the flower might be strong enough to prosper on its own? Should she not expect the same of herself? Should she not find the strength to speak the words that had collected dust on her lips for over a century?

The crumbled leaf from her dream stole into Zelda's mind but she clenched her fists, stomping the image beneath a foot of resolution. She had already proven to herself that she was not a failure, no matter what the nightmares of her past might whisper. She would prove it again by speaking her words and living with the consequences. The result could not be worse than the regret that was bound to follow on the heels of silence and inaction.

Feeling significantly better Zelda rose to her feet, brushing herself off and lifting her eyes to the heavens. The stars winked down at her from between the forests' leaves, glittering like jewels cast into an ocean of velvet.

There was no smoke.

There was no fire.

"I am not a failure," Zelda told the stars, her words fierce in their resolve. She glanced down at the flowers, strong in spite of their fragility yet as silent as the stone beneath her feet. "I will not lose these words to fear and doubt," the princess promised herself. " _I_ _will not_."

The stars, of course, did not answer. Still Zelda felt a sense of calm that chased away any lingering unease left by her nightmare.

Turning she stepped off the pedestal onto the grassy floor and almost jumped out of her skin as the ground unexpectedly wriggled beneath her boot. It took Zelda a handful of disoriented seconds to realize the thing she was stepping on wasn't ground at all but a hot footed frog. With a startled gasp she leapt backward, the creature croaking indignantly at her before hopping away.

Zelda stared after it, her eyes narrowing as they took in the unusual markings on its back. She had never seen markings like that on a hot footed frog before…Perhaps it was a new sort of species? Excitement coursed through her at the possibility.

Suddenly wide-awake Zelda darted after the frog, cursing herself for leaving her notepad behind in the Deku Tree. She would just have to take as thorough of a look as she could, committing her observations to memory long enough to write them down later. _If_ she could get actually get ahold of it of course, she thought through gritted teeth, ducking under a toppled tree branch as the frog darted beneath it. Her quarry was infuriatingly agile.

The amphibian took a sudden left, changing directions with an unexpectedly swift hop. Zelda pivoted after it, her feet leaving the ground as she lunged for the frog. Hands outstretched, her fingers just grazed the smooth skin of its back before the creature vanished into a swirl of mist.

 _Mist…?_

Instantly Zelda stilled, a cold dread settling into the pit of her stomach as she took stock of her surroundings.

Mist. Coiling, whispering tendrils of mist ebbed and flowed around her like tides on a ghostly ocean. Somehow, in her blind pursuit of the elusive frog, she had left the comforts of Korok Village and wandered back into The Lost Woods' undulating unknown. Whirling around she searched desperately for the path she had taken to get here, but it was already swallowed by the hungry fog, lost beneath a translucent carpet of white and gray.

High above Zelda's head a wind whipped through the skeletal branches of trees that grinned at her through garish, open maws. The rattling of their boughs mimicked the sound of eerie, high-pitched cackling, making it seem as though the trees themselves were laughing at her. The sound seemed to come from everywhere at once and Zelda had the terrifying suspicion that it wasn't tree branches at all. She wrapped her arms around herself, her heart thundering in her chest as she stood disoriented, afraid, and alone.

…

"Mr. Hero! Mr. Hero it's terrible! Terrible!"

A high, panicked voice yanked Link from a vivid dream of mushrooms and dancing maracas, the knight blinking groggily as a bouncing green face swam slowly into focus.

"Pepp…what…?" Link began, unable to completely finish his sentence due to the haze that still encumbered his mind. He lifted himself onto one elbow, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and tried again. "What's going on?"

Pepp rattled anxiously, still hopping up and down in apparent distress.

"The princess Mr. Hero! She—"

Link was out of bed before the korok could finish, the fog in his head burned away by the alarm brought about by those two words alone.

 _The princess._

The champion dashed the short distance to where he had left Zelda sound asleep and safe, skidding to a halt with wide eyes as his worst fears were confirmed.

The mattress was empty.

Zelda was gone.

… **.**

 **A/N: Sooo this was originally supposed to be a oneshot. You guys see how well that worked out. Anyway haven't written a Zelda fic in years but I am on such a Breath of the Wild kick right now that I just couldn't help myself. I sincerely hope you guys enjoyed this, I will likely have the final chapter up next weekend sometime.**

 **Go be awesome awesome humans and I will see you in the next/last chapter**

 **~Phoenix**


	2. Bone and Fletching

**A/N: Thank you for your patience. Without further ado I bring you Chapter Two!**

…

The mist seemed a living thing as it swirled around Zelda's ankles, ominous in its curiosity. The princess was all too aware that while the translucent tendrils hid her from view, they also hid anything that might be lurking beyond the milky haze. How could she have been so stupid, dashing back into The Lost Woods as she had? Scholarly speculation had shrouded her good judgement as effectively as the mist shrouded these woods. The Triforce of Wisdom upon her hand seemed a cruel irony in light of these recent events. The Triforce of Foolishness would have been more fitting, the perfect complement for a boneheaded princess.

Zelda clenched her fists, taking a deep breath to try and calm her erratic heartbeat. Dwelling on her mistake would only fuel the embers of self-doubt that had sparked to life inside her, its resulting smoke encumbering rational thought. She had to calm down. Had to focus on a solution. Wandering aimlessly about the wood would do nothing but get her more lost than she already was and Zelda didn't like to think what sort of creatures might be lurking beyond the shadows' edge.

She had heard stories of course, every Hylian had. Rumors of people getting lost amongst the roiling mists, losing their souls to the darkness haunting this place and leaving behind skeletal bodies that stalked the wood, looking to add to their ranks… A slow wind rattled the branches above the princess's head, the dry boughs clattering together like the chattering of teeth. It was an oddly warm breeze, as if the forest itself was breathing down her spine.

Zelda felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as the weight of invisible eyes fell almost tangibly across her shoulders. She tensed, her eyes flicking back and forth, watching the mists with a distrustful gaze.

A sudden peal of laughter burst through the dark, child-like in its tonality and emanating from somewhere right above her head. A small shriek of surprise slipped from Zelda's mouth as her façade of calm fractured, the princess whirling around and scrambling away from that eerie cackle. Her eyes flew to the skeletal branches extending into the unknown above her, but whatever lurked there remained hidden within the mist.

The princess turned in a slow circle, trying to see something through the fog that cloaked her assailants. She recognized the laughter as the same eerie sound she had heard upon her initial trek through the wood. Of course, Link had been with her then and the cackling had been further away, easily mistaken for the clatter of disturbed branches. Now the sound was right on top of her and seemed to come from every direction at once. Zelda's heart pounded in her ears, each beat adding staccato percussion to the symphony of fear playing in her chest.

The wind returned with a mournful sigh, disturbing the veil of fog that had settled over the treetops. Something glimmering in her peripherals caught her eye and the princess warily turned her head, breath catching in her throat. A pair of bright yellow eyes stared at her from the copse of branches twisting overhead, their intense coloring a stark contrast to an adjoining face hidden in deepest shadow. The creature stared at Zelda with an almost childlike intensity, those yellow eyes unblinking as they observed her.

Despite her circumstances, the scholarly part of the princess's brain was nearly bursting with inquiry. The appearance of this creature had set a snowball of unknowns rolling about Zelda's mind, leaving naught but surmises and theories in its wake.

There were legends that whispered of children who had wandered into the wood, children who had transformed into something…other. Skull Kids, some called them, creatures of an older time. An older Hyrule. Staring into those bright eyes, observing the distinctly childlike tilt of the creature's head and its slight build, Zelda found herself thinking there might be more truth to those stories than she had ever imagined.

A bright flash of color caught her eye, one that was out of place amongst the muted grays and browns of the wood. A frog was sitting on the skull kid's shoulder, the very same frog Zelda had chased in the first place, if the markings on its back were any indication. An odd frog for odd company. It was almost poetic. Intrigued, Zelda took a step forward.

This was a mistake as the spell of stillness that had settled over the two shattered. The skull kid leapt backward, balancing impossibly amongst the branches and whipping a long, silvery flute from a hidden pocket. For a moment, Zelda thought it might start to play. A second later this theory was shattered as, with a blur of motion, the skull kid brought the flute to invisible lips and fired something out of the hollow instrument. Immediately a burst of hot pain lanced through her shoulder, a thin, needle-like projectile having suddenly embedded itself there. Zelda gasped, the wound burning like a wasp sting as several beads of blood welled around the needle and dribbled down her arm. The princess stumbled back a few paces, all the intrigue that had developed at the skull kid's appearance swallowed by a newfound fear of the weapon in its hand.

Mist once again fell upon the wood, the slight glimmer in the treetops the only evidence that the skull kid was still there. A familiar peal of laughter cut through the whispering wind, followed immediately by the whistle of something sharp slicing through the air. Zelda started and leapt clumsily sideways as three more of the small darts pierced the ground where she had been standing. A chorus of laughter joined the echo of the first and more projectiles began to drop around her like malicious rainfall. It seemed the skull kid was not alone after all.

Caution thrown to the wind, Zelda ran.

Gnarled branches of grinning trees blurred past her as the princess plunged through the wood, her clothes catching on the wayward sticks and thorny bushes that dotted her path. Still the laughter did not relent, its sharp timbre an unceasing prelude to the barrage of darts that spattered forth from the mists, lodging in the forest floor like misplaced quills. Zelda sprinted on, knowing if she stayed in one place for too long it would only be a matter of time before one of the darts found something vital. In front of her, the lilting fog swirled and shifted, hiding oblivion in its depths.

Zelda hazarded a glance behind her, cerulean gaze skimming the mists for any sign of piercing yellow amongst the gray. The skull kids remained in pursuit, all the while concealed in cloaks of vapor and shadow. The princess returned her gaze to the fore and shrieked as she almost ran headlong into a tree that loomed suddenly out of the fog. She swerved at the last moment, the sudden movement throwing her off balance and sending her toppling to the ground. Zelda's momentum carried her forward, her hair catching painfully on a thorn bush as she tumbled down a small slope before at last rolling to a stop. She lay stunned for a moment, breath coming in deep heaving gasps, her body feeling like one giant bruise.

Zelda groaned and pushed herself to her knees, her wounded arm protesting at the gesture, blonde hair hanging around her face in a curtain of brambles and leaves. Sometime during her tumble, the dart protruding from her shoulder had snapped in two, blood still oozing from the wound and dripping to the ground in slow, lethargic drops.

The air around her was thick with an unexpected silence, the skull kids' laughter having dissipated like smoke in the air, their rain of projectiles at last having ceased. It was the absolution of this silence that had Zelda warily casting her eyes around her, the absence of wind and rustling leaves leaving a foreboding quiet that settled weightily about the wood.

 _Pop!_

Zelda jumped and glanced to the right, her heart nearly stopping in her chest at the source of the sound. There, not three feet from where she knelt, burbled a pond of thick brown liquid. Its contents oozed in a garish mockery of waves, bubbles pocketing the surface like pockmarks across wrinkled skin.

She had read about pools like these, had seen more than one of them on her travels with Link. It was not the sort of substance suitable for swimming, but instead a hungry death trap waiting to swallow lost travelers whole. Had Zelda's momentum carried her but a few feet further, she would have been lost to a fate of sludge and suffocation. The words she so desperately needed to say would have drowned right along with her and Link…Link never would have known what became of the Princess of Hyrule. Exhaling slowly, Zelda sent a brief prayer of thanks to the Goddess Hylia.

A sudden pulse of pain drew Zelda's eyes to the broken dart still protruding from her shoulder, the skin around it a torn, angry red. She winced, pressing her lips together at the exacerbated wound. It needed a proper looking after and lying here with her face in the mud was not conducive to those ends. Warily the princess got to her feet, giving the muck plenty of space, hating how exposed she felt to the whims of the wood. The forced solitude was touching on the edges of unwanted memory, resurrecting the corpses of images she would have preferred to let rot in the past.

The trees around her took on the shape of confining walls, impenetrable and inescapable, saturated in a loneliness that seeped like blight over her other emotions. Back then her days had been filled with darkness, her company monsters and ghosts. Yet she had persevered through it all, fueled by the knowledge that Link was alive, that single truth the light that kept all the horror at bay. She had watched over him when he awoke, communicated with him from her castle prison, her words carried on the power that whispered through her veins.

Now those abilities were an echo of their former strength, the dying gasps of a once fearsome leviathan. She didn't know if she would be able to reach Link at all or if she'd merely be sending her words into the void. Stoking this fear was a small voice in her head that whispered how selfish it was to even try. She was only in this mess because she had willingly left the safety of Korok Village behind, her current situation the consequence of that narrow-sightedness. Why should Link have to save her from pitfalls she had all but thrown herself into? Zelda bit her lip, her hands clenching into small fists.

 _Foolish princess. Failure princess._

It was disconcerting how much the words mimicked the rasp of Calamity Ganon.

Tears of frustration welled behind her eyes but Zelda stubbornly blinked them back, refusing to let them fall. Losing herself to hopelessness was not going to get her out of these woods. Dwelling on past mistakes, no matter how egregious, was not going to get her out of these woods. For now, she had to set aside her pride and at least try to reach out to Link. Her years of solitude in that castle were over, its demons lost to the passing of time. She would not resurrect them with despair.

Closing her eyes, Zelda focused on calming her breaths, picturing the young man in her mind. The more detailed Link's image was, the easier it became to convince herself that she was speaking to him; that he was standing there before her. Slowly Zelda exhaled, pushing aside her fears, her anxieties, her pain, and instead focusing on azure eyes and messy hair. She felt something stir within her, a tiny bead of golden warmth that opened a drowsy eye. Encouraged, Zelda reached for it, hoping against hope that this would work.

 _Link…_ The princess whispered his name in her mind, praying that he could hear it; that he would somehow reach her. _Li—_

 _Snap!_

Zelda's eyes flew open as the sound of cracking twigs shattered her focus, fracturing the silence that had settled around her. All the fear and anxiety her concentration had held at bay came flooding back, her body tense as she scanned the mists for danger.

The fog seemed to whisper as it slithered over the ground and coiled around tree trunks, hiding secrets in its translucent depths. The gray tendrils undulated, brushing her skin like the breaths of some great, invisible beast. Zelda kept her eyes locked on the shroud, not trusting the wispy vapor for a moment.

One beat passed.

Then two.

Perhaps the noise had merely marked the passing of some wild animal…

The mist whirled.

Zelda took a step closer.

Her eyes narrowed.

A giant, spiked club suddenly descended from out of the fog, the princess barely able to throw herself backward in time as the weapon sliced in front of her, smashing into the ground with a tumultuous crack. The sound was deafening in its close proximity and Zelda's ears rang as she scrambled away, her heart throwing itself painfully against her ribcage.

As the princess watched, the mists parted to reveal the hulking frame of a stalmoblin trundling forth from white oblivion, its haunted eyes fixed on her. She took a step back as warning bells exploded in her mind. That club would do far worse than puncture her skin.

The sinkhole was to her back allotting no escape in that direction, and the stalmoblin stood between her and the fog's fickle cover. Truth be told, she wasn't entirely convinced mist even inconvenienced creatures like this. The monster had found her easily enough, hadn't it?

She had no more time to ponder this as the stalmoblin huffed agitatedly, swinging its club down in another vertical slice. Zelda flung herself sideways, her tangled mass of hair swirling around her face and blinding her almost as effectively as the fog had. Ignoring this, the princess darted forward, hoping to make it past the monster before it could hoist up its formidable weapon. She dashed around the creature, her breaths sharp in her throat, a painful stitch beginning to form in her side.

Zelda hazarded a glance upward as the monster roared in frustration. It brought its weapon hurtling about in a side swing that smashed through a nearby tree, the hapless trunk shattering in a deluge of bark and debris. The princess threw herself to the ground, her hands flying up to protect her skull as the club whistled overhead, the shower of wood and leaves pelting her like vengeful hail. She rolled to the side, scrambling backward in a crab-like motion that carried her just beyond the reach of the monster's follow up swing. Somehow, she was able to get her feet underneath her and she took the opportunity to stumble back to momentary safety.

The stalmoblin was once again between the princess and escape, a massive pile of debris now adding to the obstacles blocking her way forward. Adrenaline coursed through Zelda's veins, beads of sweat sliding down her temples, her arm throbbing from the skull kids' projectile barrage. She ignored the pain, her mind racing her heart as she desperately tried to piece together a strategy that didn't involve getting smashed to pieces. Zelda's options were quickly running out, desperation encroaching like thunderheads across her fields of logical thought.

Clenching her fists, the princess reached for her power, hoping against hope that she would be able to scrounge up enough to deal with the threat. Yet her once vast ocean of strength had dwindled to a slow, sad trickle. Useless.

Again, she was reminded of her dream, of that golden glow abandoning her and leaving her helpless as Hyrule burned.

Except this was no dream.

The enemy she faced was no Calamity Ganon, but that wouldn't make her any less dead if that club connected.

The stalmoblin roared its ire, swinging its weapon in an unbalanced horizontal slice, the blow frenzied and erratic. Zelda ducked, a second resounding crash reverberating around the wood as another tree was caught in the onslaught and splintered into dust. The princess gasped for breath, unsure how much longer she would be able to keep this up.

Again, she reached for her power and again was met with nothing but a drowsy sigh. How morbidly ironic it was that she had spent her life dedicated to that sacred power, her endeavors culminating in the defeat of Calamity Ganon, only to be felled by a creature like this. The same might that had once brought an army of Guardians to their knees now yawned cold and empty within her, unable to snuff out this single beast. Perhaps the Goddess had left her behind, believing the princess's usefulness spent upon the plains of Hyrule.

The stalmoblin, clearly growing impatient with her continued survival, began to whip its club around in reckless, sporadic circles. Zelda dove for cover behind a particularly sturdy looking tree, crouching low to the ground with her hands over her head as the weapon sailed through the air, cleaving the branches from their foundation. The princess could feel her body trembling as splinters rained down around her, the ground shaking underfoot as the destroyed trunk heaved a great groan and toppled sideways. Pushing aside her doubts, Zelda whispered a prayer to the Goddess for protection.

There was a sudden massive thud, followed by a frustrated roar and several scuffling noises, the toppled tree at her back vibrating as something collided with it. Curiosity overcoming caution, Zelda peeked around the remains of the stump, keeping her body tense and ready to dodge at the slightest hint of movement.

The stalmoblin was struggling to get back to its feet, apparently having tripped over itself sometime during its recent onslaught. The culprit seemed to be the newly fallen tree-trunk that had landed just inches from the gurgling sink-hole. In all likelihood the monster had tripped over the trunk while trying to get to her, it's club currently embedded in the fractured wood.

The princess stared at the lethal pond, struck momentarily still as an idea walloped her in the side of the head. True her power was a mere wisp of its former glory, but that power had never made up the whole of her identity. She was a scholar, a person who delighted in what made the world behave the way it did. Innovative solutions had been her bread and butter long before her powers had awoken, and that part of her was chomping at the bit to prove itself to the world. To come out of the dusty corner her well-intentioned father had swept it into over and over again. _That_ was what made Zelda who she was; what made her more than the power that had sealed Calamity Ganon.

She took a deep breath, her eyes narrowing in concentration as she observed her giant, skeletal, club-wielding, quandary. While this was a situation that proved much more life-threatening than most, it was still _just_ a problem, and every problem had a solution.

The stalmoblin tottered back to its feet and swung around to stare at her, its haunted yellow eyes a frenzy of hate and rage as it yanked its club from the trunk. Zelda stared back, defiant. She inhaled deeply, the resolve that flowed through her veins filling her with a last reserve of energy she hadn't known she possessed. The young woman rose to her feet and a heartbeat of charged silence followed as monster and princess glared at each other.

Then Zelda darted forward and all hell broke loose.

She heard the stalmoblin's cacophonous bellow as her legs carried her across the forest floor, skirting wayward rocks and splintered branches as she sprinted pell-mell toward the sludge. Zelda could feel the reverberations in the ground as the monster pursued, hear the thunderous pound of its feet, see the ripples across the surface of the pool. The creature was closing in.

 _Steady,_ Zelda told herself. _Breathe. Courage._

The muck rose up to meet her and she skidded to a halt inches from its hungry depths before whirling to face the monster. Club hefted high in the air, the stalmoblin was bearing down on her, yellow eyes incensed and ready for the kill.

"Goddess protect me," Zelda whispered.

Her body tensed.

The stalmoblin roared.

Time seemed to slow as the creature brought the massive club down in an erratic horizontal swing, a heavy whistling sound following in the wake of the blow. At the last moment Zelda threw herself to the side, ignoring the pain that lanced up her arm as she hit the ground, immediately rolling away and glancing over her shoulder.

The club sailed overhead, the weapon's weight adding to the stalmoblin's momentum, carrying the creature forward and into the brown liquid. The monster grunted in surprise as its bony feet lost purchase, sinking into the sludge with a wet schlurping sound. Zelda watched in morbid fascination as the stalmoblin flailed, losing its grip on the club as it fought fruitlessly to get back to shore. Furious yellow eyes met triumphant cerulean, the monster now waist deep in the sludge and sinking quickly.

It bellowed in anger and before Zelda realized what was happening, the creature lashed out, its skeletal arm bridging the distance between them as bony fingers closed around her ankle. A spike of alarm froze the blood to ice in her veins as the monster pulled her forward, submerging Zelda's leg beneath the surface of the pool in a matter of moments.

"No!" the princess shrieked, trying to claw her way out of the creature's grip even as it dragged her further in. The stalmoblin was sinking fast and clearly had every intention of taking her down with it. Gravel and bits of splintered wood bit into Zelda's palms as she struggled for anything that would stop her descent into the pool. Her fingers grazed something smooth, her hand closing around a stone of considerable heft. Without a second thought she twisted in the creature's grip and brought the rock down on the monster's skeletal arm with all the strength she could muster.

A resounding crack echoed around the wood as the stalmoblin's arm snapped in two. Suddenly relieved of its anchor, the stalmoblin wheeled back, the small part of its body that wasn't submerged beneath the sludge crashing against the surface. It managed a final, infuriated roar before its skull was swallowed by the pool, the few pockets of air that burbled to the surface marking the monster's demise.

Zelda had no time to celebrate.

While her descent had slowed since the stalmoblin released her, she was still sinking beneath the surface at an alarming rate. Already the muck had climbed halfway up her thighs, her legs straining uselessly as she attempted to pull herself out. The princess stretched her hand forward, reaching toward the tree lying tantalizingly just out of reach. If she could just get a little…further…

Zelda's fingertips were millimeters from grazing the branches' ends when she heard it: The slow creak of a bowstring being pulled taut against its confines.

The princess froze, her pounding heart seeming to miss a beat as she cautiously turned her head in the direction of the noise. It was difficult to make out anything in the fog, still undulating and twisting the way it was. Even so it was impossible to miss the two pinpricks of reddish-yellow that glinted at her from the mists. Her breath caught in her throat.

A stalkoblin stood a top a small cluster of nearby boulders, the large stones little more than smudges in a pool of deeper shadow. It clasped a bow in its skeletal hands, an arrow already knocked into position, string rigid and ready to fire.

Zelda stared at it, the creature's appearance blowing a hole in the ship of hope that had sailed into her chest at the stalmoblin's demise. There was nothing she could do. Her powers were spent and no idea she could muster would get her out of this pool on time.

A loneliness she had not felt since her days suppressing Calamity Ganon blossomed thick as blight in her heart, tears lining her eyes as she stared down the stalkoblin's arrow. It wasn't that she was afraid to die. She had lived a good life, blessed with friends who loved her and a kingdom that adored her. Hyrule's scourge had been brought low thanks to her powers, her role as the sacred maiden successfully completed. Yet it was the thought of dying alone, surrounded by naught but whispers and darkness that stabbed like a blade through her heart.

Link.

She would never get to see him again. She would never get to tell him her words. Too long had they sat unspoken on her lips and now… now it was too late.

Tears slid down Zelda's cheeks as the stalkoblin's bowstring hissed with release, the princess closing her eyes as the arrow sang the end of her story. The princess awaited it, summoning an image of Link into her mind; one of gentle eyes and a rare, soft smile. Zelda's lips parted and she whispered her words to oblivion as death took the form of bone and fletching.

…

No!

He could feel her calling him.

No!

Could sense the resignation in her words. The knowledge. The acceptance. It pulled to him, drew him to her, his princess the brilliant flame, himself the enamored moth. That fire, he could not let it go out. Would not let it go out! He would get there. Had to get there. She could not, would not, be allowed to leave him. He had waited too damn long to find her again.

 _Link I…_

Her trail was easy to follow now, a whirlwind of snapped branches and golden hair caught on thorny vines. The fog was nothing to that golden light. This distance was nothing. He would get there. Had to get there!

 _I should have told you earlier… so many times… I was foolish._

"Don't you give up on me," he murmured, crashing through the underbrush. "Don't you dare!"

He didn't think he had ever run so fast in his life, the whispers in his mind drawing him to her location with more certainty than any map.

 _I hope you can forgive me for waiting… I hope you find happiness…_

He could see her now, see the sludge she was sinking into.

See the stalkoblin pointing an arrow at her heart.

Red hot rage flashed through his being, searing him to his core. In moments his own bow was drawn, an arrow knocked in the quiver, steel tip pointed at the bone of his enemy.

 _Link I lo—_

He released the arrow, the projectile piercing the air with a defiant shriek.

…

 **Hey all! Sorry this chapter came out much later than I was intending. Unfortunately side projects like this sometimes have to take back seats to life, but thank you for your patience. I know I took a couple liberties with this chapter, not the least of which being the appearance of the Skull Kids. As they were never officially pictured in BOTW I just based them loosely off of OoT's design. Whenever you get lost in the Lost Woods there's always that cackling laugh and I took a lot of inspiration from that. Whether or not it's the skull kids is debatable but hey, that's what fanfiction is for right?**

 **Also didn't see a whole lot of stalmoblins in the woods but figured if there were stalkoblins and keese and the like, I could throw a few stalmoblins in there too. Makes for a more dramatic fight scene :P In any case I know I said this would be the last chapter…alas I was incorrect once again. BUT FOR REAL CHAPTER THREE WILL BE THE LAST ONE! I mean three is a good number anyway right? Three like the Triforce? Okay I'm done. Thanks for reading and reviewing! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions** **See you in the last chapter!  
**

**~Phoenix**


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